Hamas’ Terror Attack in Gaza – Are We on the Verge of Another Holocaust?

As always, the following blog is strictly my opinion. You may agree or disagree. After all, despite recent events and despite the attitudes and the prejudices of the small but vocal numbers of wokers among us this is still America. We are still able to exercise the right of freedom of speech.

The subject of this particular blog will be focused on the reaction of people in the US to the Israel-Hamas War. As I watch the news daily I have been shocked by the virulent antisemitism both worldwide, in general, and the US, in particular. As a student of history and Jewish history I cannot help but draw parallels between current events and 1930s Nazi Germany. Perhaps, I am being overly dramatic. Perhaps, the characterization of “holocaust” is a bit extreme. Perhaps, those who say it can’t happen here in the US are right. But, read on as I make my case. Then, you decide.

As I have delineated in my two previous blogs during the past 2 weeks the current war between Israel and Hamas is most disturbing on several levels. Incidentally, for the past 11 years some 950 of my blogs have been published in the Times of Israel. Although The TOI retains the right of pre-review it had never refused to publish any of my blogs- until now. For some undisclosed reason it has declined to publish my last two blogs on this subject, and it will not tell me why. Curious.

In any event, my observations and opinions regarding the current matter are as follows:

1. Many people are failing to see Hamas’ attack of October 7 for what it really was. This was not a run-of- the-mill attack on Israelis akin to others throughout Israel’s history. No. It was an attempt of extermination of a race. I am not making this up. It has been an oft-stated goal of of Hamas to annihilate the Jews. This view has been echoed by other terrorist groups in the M E as well as their chief sponsor, Iran.

2. Most of the demonstrators in the US and elsewhere have failed see or chosen to overlook this fact.  They have chosen to overlook or ignore that Hamas slaughtered innocent civilians- women, children, babies, the elderly, the infirmed, and the disabled. They slaughtered people in their sleep. They disemboweled pregnant women and cut out their fetuses.  This is purely and simply barbaric. It is unheard of in modern warfare. As I have said the perpetrators of this are subhuman troglodytes and should be treated as such.

3. Clearly the goal of this attack was nothing less than an extermination. Hamas is not looking to negotiate a peace or even a cease fire. I ask where is the outrage?  Where is the shock? Where is the condemnation? Where are the demands for immediate and decisive justice?  Why hasn’t the rest of the world made pariahs of Hamas and their sponsors?

4. Israel has the right, no, the obligation to retaliate in strength. No namby-pamby response will suffice. Israel is embroiled in all-out war. It must ensure that there will not be any further such attacks prospectively. It should have the support of the whole world.

5. There have been many similar occurrences in history. For example, did the world blame Great Britain for causing the German blitz during WWII? Did it pressure Britain into a “measured” response? Similarly, did the world blame the US for the Japanese sneak attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Did it demand a “measured” response? The answers are no and no. Why should Israel have to do so in this case. Israel is entitled to defend itself the same as any other country.

6. Instead, we have been witnessing demonstrations blaming Israel and its policies and treatment of the Palestinians. The demonstrators claim it is all Israel’s own fault. They conveniently ignore the heinous nature of the attack as described above. I say how would they react if the victims were their families, friends and neighbors? If Mexican cartels were lobbing rockets into Texas and murdering innocent civilians, how would we react? We all know the answer.

7. Most disturbing to me is that many of these people are not ones we can dismiss as fringe elements or crackpots. Some appear to be, but many others are people who should be more edified, who should know better. They are not acting out of ignorance.  They are acting out of bias and hatred. They are college administrators, professors and students, even members of Congress, even Biden’s chief negotiator with Iran.

The latent anti-Semitism in the US and the world as a whole is bubbling to the surface. We are observing a transformation from covert to overt anti-Semitism. The bigots have been encouraged and emboldened.  They are emerging from under whatever emotional rocks they have been living under out into the open

The issue has broadened. Now, we are seeing Jews attacked in the streets and bomb threats of synagogues.

Now is the time when the US which is Israel’s only dependable ally, needs a strong leader. It needs a leader who can be more forceful and decisive, who can tell these demonstrators to tone down the irresponsible rhetoric, who can rally our allies and warn our enemies. Instead, we have the weak cognitively deficient Joe Biden.  Now, we will see that elections truly do have consequences.

Biden has been paying lip service to Israel and the Jews. By the way we should all realize that in the minds of many, if not most, Israel and Jews are synonymous terms. Anti-Israel is code for anti-Semitism.

Biden has been saying all the right things like we stand with Israel. But, he has stopped short of condemning Hamas.  He has steadfastly claimed there is no conclusive proof of Iran’s involvement.  We all know that is BS. We all know that if Biden were to acknowledge Iran’s culpability it would expose the failure of his entire policy vis-a-vis Iran. When Biden took office Iran had been virtually bankrupted by Trump’s strict economic embargoes. Simply put, he has enabled Iran to resurrect its economy, which in turn, has enabled it to fund the terrorism of its proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Much of aid money he’s now requesting from Congress would go to Ukraine and even be stolen by Hamas.

By all indications Biden is incapable of dealing with the various enemies of Israel and the US. Our enemies do not fear him. They do not respect him. Probably, they privately mock him as a feckless fool. They have seen what many of us have seen, at least those of us who do not get their news from the fake news outlets. I even question his ability to rescue the remaining 10 or so US hostages. Do you remember how he abandoned hundreds of Americans in Afghanistan?

Conclusion

So, in summary, cognizant of Jewish history, I view the October 7 attack as the opening salvo of an escalation of anti-Semitism that has the potential to morph into a catastrophic situation for Jews. (I hesitate to characterize it as a “Holocaust,” because that would dilute the meaning of the real Holocaust.)

In any case, I fear for the future of Judaism. I fear for the future of America. I fear for our children and grandchildren and for generations of Jews yet unborn. We all should.